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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Sponsons
Posted By: dave mcadoo In Response To: Re: Sponsons (Lee)
Date: Thursday, 21 December 2000, at 5:36 p.m.
: The kayaking industry as a whole, with some exceptions, does not take safety
: Hi Ray, I'm wading into the liability/personal responsibility issue on this
: topic. I've raced bicycles,owned a bike shop, helped promote races, and
: now work in the "sea kayak" industry as an instructor and also
: for a small company on the fringe of the sea kayak businesses. In my
: experience there are more individuals threatening their own lives and the
: lives of others coming from their own values and life experience than
: there are of manufacturers and retailers "not informing customers of
: the risks involved": Just out of curiousity do you know anybody that operates a motorized vehicle
: while talking on a cell phone?: What could "the kayaking industry as a whole" do to take safety as
: seriously as it could?: Anybody that advocates lawsuits as a means to recognize risk has the cart so
: far ahead of the horse as to be not in the same county, or at least
: understand what the road is for. Sorry for my high horse but I'm still
: struck by the tragedy of my neighbor that has a Bayliner from suing the
: restaurant where he slipped and injured his back, a 300hp gas speed boat
: for a guy that walks with a cane!. I knew an ex-bike racer that sued the
: bike shop because he wiped out at high speed on his mtn. bike, he had the
: 26x1.95 tires pumped to 85psi, the court tossed it out but the shop owner
: was screwed by this customer then later by the insurance co.,, oh the shop
: owners personal assets were probably $100k the ex-racer fireman probably
: worth $400k with four times the income with his professional wife.: I guess what I'm getting at is that when people "play" they have to
: look to themselves first for taking safety seriously. People buy toys,
: they can't buy responsibility, information, risk assesment or good
: judgement.
: Back to my original question, what could this industry do to take safety
: seriously as it could?On safety, our biggest concern is visibility on the St Lawrence River. The cockpit on my seda glider is high so water usually does not come in without a skirt. As a backrest I have a 2inch thick piece of dense white ethafoam that is about 12in by 12in with a 3ft lenght of paddle shaft sticking up out of the back cushion with a bike flag hooked to it for visibility. I like and respect bikers who go all out for safety by using a flag. Canada desrves credit for being more conscientious than the US at going after drunks with a 100 mph boat. Us authorities tend to view a man's boat as his 100 mph castle and let him risk many lives.
Also on safety, they rented whitewater kayaks to some drunken spring breakers who went down class 4 whitewater on the Ottawa River. Rental people might save everyone some grief with 5 minute videos on a tv at the sales couter so people can get an idea of risk and be required to sign off on knowing the video before renting. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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